Mustangs unable to tame the Tigers

Sweetwater’s Paxton Kelley shoots over Snyder’s Xavier Malone (14) in Tuesday’s season finale. Kelley, a 6-8 senior post, scored 18 points in his final game as a Mustang to share high-point honors, but the Tigers won the game 68-38. (Photo by Betsy Howe)

With one of its most boisterous crowds of the year in attendance, the Sweetwater boys basketball team hoped to upset Snyder in its finale Tuesday at Mustang Gym and end on a high note, while denying the Tigers a chance at a playoff spot.
But the Mustangs, as has been the case throughout district play and for most of the season, simply didn’t have enough firepower to pull it off. Snyder, on the other hand, gradually warmed up as the game progressed and pulled away in the second and third quarters for a 68-38 victory.
Sweetwater (0-8, 6-22) kept things close for awhile, trailing just 12-8 after one quar-ter and 14-10 in the first minute of the second period. But Snyder was able to quiet the Sweetwater crowd a little by going on a 13-0 run for a 27-10 advantage, and kept its lead in double digits after that. The Tigers led 34-16 at halftime, and 54-30 after three periods. But Snyder (3-5, 13-11) was denied the No. 3 berth when Brownwood (4-4) beat Wylie 63-34. Wylie (7-1) is the district champ with Big Spring (6-2) as runnerup.
Senior post Paxton Kelley scored 18 points, matching Snyder’s Anthony Taylor for game honors. Taylor Jones added nine, while the team’s other senior, Kevin Sepeda, had six. Dylon Adames and Kyle McSherry had two points and Ryan Mercer one.